Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
are prepared by the Government Press Office
as a service to foreign journalists in Israel.
They express the views of the authors.
Increasing Sophistication And Backing From Beirut
(Commentary by Oded Granot, "Ma'ariv", Mar 1, 1999, p.A12)
Israel is currently fighting two terrorist organizations: Hamas and
Hizballah, neither of which actually poses an existential threat to us.
But both groups, through the numerous casualties of their attacks, have
exacted an unbearable price.
The main difference is that Israel now has a partner, the Palestinian
Authority, in the war against Hamas; Arafat has a clear interest in
preventing attacks on Israel in order to rescue the stuck negotiations.
But the opposite is true in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Hizballah on
its own. The Syrians, instead of restraining Hizballah, are encouraging it
to act, and thus force Israel into political negotiations.
Aside from the Syrians, the new Lebanese administration which is more
active and aggressive than its predecessor is backing Hizballah,
expressing no reservations about its activities. Lebanese Prime Minister
Salim Hoss even visited Arnoun on Saturday to celebrate the removal of an
IDF fence that was constructed to hamper Hizballah operations.
The bomb which killed four Israelis, including the IDF's most senior
commander in southern Lebanon, yesterday was no different than the dozens
of other explosive charges laid by Hizballah in recent months. Some were
even successfully disassembled. The primary shift is in the exponential
growth of Hizballah activity in southern Lebanon over the past year, in
the organization's increased daring and its emphasis on media impact, and
in the documentation of all its actions including film clips of IDF
commanders, like that of Brig.-Gen. Erez Gerstein, which was shown after
his death yesterday.
This combination of increased Hizballah terrorism and the firm support of
Syria, Iran and a more popular Lebanese government, is making it difficult
for the IDF to formulate an appropriate response.
At this difficult time, it must be said that the solution lies on the
political field. Not in a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon or in a
unilateral violation of the Grapes of Wrath understandings. Hizballah has
enough Katyushas to make the lives of Israel's northern residents
intolerable.